Electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction in transition metal sputtered thin films

Releasing CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere is one of the main reasons for global warming. CO₂ emissions can be reduced by electrochemical conversion of CO₂ into fuels and chemicals resulting in environment friendly power production. Electrocatalysts capable of efficiently converting CO₂ into fuels and chemicals with high selectivity are extremely important to reduce CO₂ impact on the environment. In this work, we report that electrocatalytic activity of transition metals for electrochemical conversion of CO₂. Molybdenum (Mo), molybdenum nitride (MoN), tungsten (W) and tungsten nitride (WN) samples were synthesized using DC Magnetron sputtering technique. Results indicate that Mo has shown better catalytic response compared to the other electrodes for CO₂ conversion producing current density up to 15 mA.cm^-2 at the applied potential -1.0 V versus RHE. Chronoamperometry (CA) results display stability of electrodes for prolonged period.